From Union Station to the Smithsonian and the Pentagon, federal workers spoke out courageously this year for dignity and fair pay. We've reached this point thanks to their actions and their efforts. We applaud President Obama for doing the right thing and putting working people first.
Every time we hear weaker regulation means a better economy, we should remember what happened to the Elk River and the effects of the spill on working families in West Virginia. We should also remember the devastating chemical fires in the Cuyahoga River in Ohio, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and every other American landscape damaged in the name of corporate profits at taxpayer expense. The narrow interests that want weaker environmental standards, fewer workplace safety regulations, lower corporate taxes, and limited labor rights aren't representing working people.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), like any other far-reaching trade agreement, has the potential to change the lives of millions of working families here in the United States and across the world. If passed without Congressional oversight, TPP will become another NAFTA – a job-killer for the American economy and a broken promise to the international community.
This revelation is outrageous. The possibility of a military presence into 2024 is unacceptable. There is no military solution in Afghanistan. After 13 years and more than $778 billion invested in an unstable country and the corrupt Karzai government, its time to bring our troops and tax dollars home.
A Reuters report released this week documents shocking levels of waste within the Pentagon. The report uncovered, among other things, billions in excess inventory at the Defense Logistics Agency, orders totaling $733 million for supplies and equipment that the Pentagon already had in its warehouses, and questionable book-keeping practices that make the Pentagon essentially un-auditable.
Workplace discrimination has no place in the United States. When 17 percent of LGBT workers and 26 percent of transgender Americans report being fired or not hired for a job due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, there's a serious problem that Congress needs to address.